From the M.E.N.
They could play for Barcelona, Real Madrid or AC Milan tomorrow, but British red tape means two Manchester United stars of the future are years away from getting their big break at Old Trafford.
Chinese striker Fangzhuo Dong and African teenager Souleymane Mamam, have been registered as United players for over a year, yet neither has played at any level for the club, trained with their team-mates, or spent more than the odd night in Manchester.
Instead they are plying their trade in the Belgian second division where they are 12 months into three-year contracts with Royal Antwerp, the loophole United use in a bid to beat bureaucracy which they claim is handicapping Premiership clubs.
"We have an horrific system in England," said Les Kershaw, head of United's youth academy scheme.
"Souleymane Mamam could play in any European country except England, and it is a problem we have with any really talented boy we identify from a non-European country.
"An 18-year-old African `wonder kid' could sign for Real Madrid, Juventus, AC Milan, Ajax or any other big club outside England, but he could not come here.
"Top class Brazilian lads at 18 or 19 years of age scatter all over Europe yet they don't come to England. Look at Ronaldinho, and there is another boy at present they are all talking about now, but we would struggle to get him a work permit. We enter the same competitions as the other European clubs but as far as I am concerned it is a non-level playing field."